Chicago, IL - WOW - Page 2

Well, at least I know I'm not alone.

Thanks,


Mitch

I've recently been experiencing problems with receiving program information from the TVGOS service. I get my information from CBS Channel 2 in chicago via Wide Open West cable. The problem has been occurring for about a week and a half. The system has been working for over 8 months without any problems. No changes have been made to the system, it just stopped working.

Is there anybody else out there using a TVGOS enabled device with the same set-ups having the same, or simular, problems?

Bump

I get Comcast Sportsnet HD on channel 220 from WOW. All the programming is the Chicago programming -- what's interesting is the information from the onscreen directory seems to becoming from Baltimore -- the ball games are Orioles games and the soccer is DC. Is anyone else experiencing this problem?

napjim, where are you located?

Southside of Naperville -- You?

Same.

The on screen diectory that you are refering to, - Is it the guide that is provided by WOW, or another one?


(The TV Guide is displayed on channel 14, and Comcast on channel 38. The TV guide seems to be correct)

Channel 38 is good for me too. It is the onscreen guide provided by WOW for the HD version of the channel -- 220. When I use "guide" on the remote, or if I look at the "info" when I'm on 220, I get the Baltimore Info -- not the Chicago. How about you?

I don't have HD from WOW.

WOW has unencrypted the local HD channels! So, even if you only have basic cable service you can now get the local HS channels over cable if you have a QAM tuner. I suggest you should do a rescan. The channels are are 200 through 206.



Mitch

Thanks, Mitch! I have WOW analog and in addition to the local HD channels, I also picked up the digital music channels as unscrambled in the 500 range. I actually get steady OTA reception (even WBBM-DT) most of the time, but this will be a nice back-up during storms and such...

If only they had left Comcast Sportsnet HD unscrambled (if it really is on 220), I would not face the upgrade to digital question come baseball season. With all of the horror stories I have seen, having to use CableCards with my TiVo Series 3 scares me...

yeah WOW local chanenls are unencrypted as of 11/7

here is some info on WOW HD receivers

On the 3250 HD receiver with a DVI connection, when a DVI cable is plugged in to the DVI port on the back of the receiver, the component outputs are disabled. To use the component cables again the DVI cable must be unplugged from the receiver.



On the 8000 HD-DVR receiver with a DVI connection, when a DVI cable is plugged in to the DVI port on the back of the receiver, the component outputs are disabled. To use the component cables again the DVI cable must be unplugged from the receiver.



On the 8300 HD-DVR receiver with a HDMI connection, when a HDMI cable is plugged in to the HDMI port on the back of the receiver, the component outputs will still work normally. To switch between component and HDMI when both are connected, use the television remote to switch between inputs.

WOW is also using Pace 551P receiver with HDMI

An earlier message suggested that Comcast SportsNet (HD channel 220) was showing the program guide for Comcast SN Baltimore/Washington D.C. This was, in fact, true.

I finally got WOW! to update the channel guide to reflect the programs on Comcast SN Chicago (same as WOW! channel 38).

Now, if we could make a concerted effort to get WLS-TV to fix their HD issues they have when broadcasting a College Football game on channel 200. College FB games on ABC have looked like garbage all season long and continued with the Notre Dame vs. USC game on the 25th.

It's clear that the settings at WLS on their Harris FlexiCoder (the HD encoder) are set to "adaptive", which makes the HD picture snap in and out of focus (graphics and all). I have gone so far to contact WLS (both the General Manager and Engineering Department) and even Phil Rosenthal with the Chicago Tribune to see if he could assist.

Local viewers of WLS-TV on HD need to call, write or e-mail the station and tell them that their Harris FlexiCoder's settings are wrong: they need to manually correct the settings from "adaptive" to "fixed setting 2".

We still got some big college FB games coming up this year and we need the HD picture quality fixed ASAP!

I just ordered an HDTV and it should be deleivered next week. I currently have Comcast, but am thinking about switching. Can anyone give me reasons why to switch to WoW. Has anyone used both? Is either DVR better than the other? I'm in Naperville.

Thanks,

My mother-in-law has a Sony HDTV with a built-in ATSC tuner, but I'm rarely visiting long enough to let the TV automatically tune all the HD channels. When I try, it says that it will take 50+ minutes and so far it's only found PBSHD and ABCHD. I was wondering if anyone could list with QAM channel numbers that they've been able to use with WOW. I believe so far I have PBS on 113.213 and ABCHD on 113.200.

Thanks!

Hello,

I have WOW here in Elgin, using a poineer plasma 5071 set (cablecard)
is it common to have sporadic sound / picture breakup? sometimes it wont
happen at all, other times ive switched channels it was so annoying. Ive had
times where only the sound was effected (switching from 5.1 to pro logic and back) is this a cable problem or TV problem?

Thanks............Ray

The QAM tuner on my Mitsubishi set is picking up the HD channels as follows on the WOW! system in Schaumburg:
113.200 ABC
113.205 PBS
118.102 CBS
119.104 Fox
120.103 NBC
121.106 MyTV (WPWR)
121.107 CW (WGN)
121.130 NBC Weather +

If anyone finds any more HD channels "in the clear" please post them. I'm hoping we'll get to see CSN at some point. I traded email with WOW! where they indicated we should be getting that, but I have been unable to find it.

Perfect timing, I just got to my mother-in-law's today for the first time since I last posted. And all those channels worked perfect! Thanks a lot!

Does anyone know if WOW's HD package now includes ESPN2 HD?

I'm a big sports fan living in Naperville, looking to purchase my first HDTV set in the next few days.

I'm trying to decide whether to go with an HD-Pak upgrade to my existing WOW cable service or to chuck cable and sign up for DirectTV, which I know carries ESPN2 HD, as well as other HD material.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

My father in law has WOW HD and loves the dual HD DVR. I couldn't remember if he had ESPN2 HD, so I checked their website. According to it, they do NOT have ESPN2 HD. Check out this link http://www1.wowway.com/PDF/ChicagoLandChannels.pdf

Thanks for the feedback. I just called WOW and scheduled an appointment for delivery of an HD cable box. The price for the local HD channels and the HD Pak was steeper than I thought, but since there is no long-term lease commitment, I'll give it a try for a while before I decide whether or not to switch to DirecTV. There has been a post-Christmas rush for new services, so the earliest they could work me into their schedule was January 17th, but that's still before my HDTV arrives (late Jan).

I still can't figure out why they offer ESPN HD but not ESPN2 HD.

I tried calling WOW today to find out more information about the HD DVR, but they were unable to tell me anything other than their equipment provider is Scientific Atlanta.

Can you (or anyone else on this thread) tell me what the model number is of the HD DVR provided by WOW?

EDIT: Looking at the Scientific-Atlanta website, it looks like it might be the 8240HD model, with an HDMI output and up to 90 hours of SD recording capability and up to 20 hours of HD recording capability...

http://www.scientificatlanta.com/cus...ce/7007202.pdf

If someone here can confirm this, I would greatly appreciate it.

I received the SA 8300HD from WOW, for HDTV and a DVR. My LG 42PC3D was just delivered this past weekend, and the only dissapointing news that I received from WOW was that "WOW does not support the HDMI connection". I also found that WOW only offers HD in the 1080i format (not 720p).

I called WOW because when using HDMI between the 8300HD and LG42PC3D, the audio for non-HDTV channels was lost. HDTV channels were fine. WOW told me to use the composite cable option. This works, but I prefer the color and audio from the HDMI.

Has anyone had sucess using HDMI with the 8300HD? Any ideas to solve this problem?

Thank you,
Rich

Thanks for your response. After doing some further research, and not finding many positive reviews about the performance of the Scientific Atlanta DVRs supplied by WOW, I decided to purchase a TiVo Series 3 to replace my Series 2, which doesn't have HD capability. The TiVo Series 3, while expensive, eliminates the set top box by using dual cable cards, so you have true dual HD tuner capability with the beloved TiVo user interface, and the signal out to the TV is via HDMI cable.

I'm looking forward to trying the new WOW/TiVo Series 3/plasma combo, once the new cable cards from WOW get delivered and installed in late January!

I'm in the same boat. I have a new Sony SXRD set and I just picked up a Tivo S3. I'm disappointed at the price increment from WoW just to get HBO HD. I have basic cable now + HBO. WoW tells me I need to pick up the "Digital Basic" bundle in order to get a CableCard. That's $20 more a month. Add another $3.50 for the second CableCard.

I also note that WoW in the western suburbs must be different from WoW in Schaumburg. I'm only getting ABCHD and PBSHD in the clear right now. Not a big deal, since I threw an antenna in the attic and I'm getting all the local channels OTA.

Does anyone have any info on how far into Plainfield, WOW extends their service? I am down near Shorewood on the Will/ Kendall CO border. I am going to call this weekend and see but thought I would ask.

The digital basic bundle is worthwhile. Once I signed up for it last year (to get the DIY channel), and I started watching some of the other new digital channels (Biography Channel, Discovery Times Channel, NFL Network, ESPN News, Fox Sports - Central), I kicked myself for not being aware of the digital option sooner.

FWIW, even though I'm waiting on my cable cards to arrive, I hooked up my new Series 3 tonight direct to the coax from the wall (bypassing the digital cable box, which is still hooked up to my Series 2), and I am getting the following channels free and clear...

200 - ABCHD
201 - CBSHD
202 - FOXHD
203 - NBCHD
204 - UPNHD
205 - PBSHD
206 - WGNHD

You might want to do another channel scan on your Series 3, with the cable hooked up straight from the wall outlet & bypassing your analog box, just to see if you pick them up.

I think WOW has an online ZIP code query on their website to let you know if they provide service in your area.

I'm getting two new cableCARDs installed in a couple of weeks for my new Tivo Series3, and I am a concerned about problems occuring during cableCARD installation, since these things are still relatively new for a lot of techs.

Are there any specific problems or pitfalls that I need to be aware of before the tech arrives, or is the process now running pretty smoothly?

Thanks in advance for your help.